The Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) program has become a trend in the US in recent years, with over 1 million people participating. 100 GBI pilots launched since 2018,
Fox News Digital spoke last week with Michael D. Tubbs, president of the organization Mayors for Guaranteed Income, to discuss why cities are launching GBI pilot programs.
Tubbs, then the mayor of Stockton, California, started the organization Mayors for Guaranteed Income after seeing a “lack of economic opportunity” in Stockton and abroad.
Tubbs said given the city of Stockton’s small size and limited budget, he knew the GBI program wouldn’t be feasible.
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Tubbs, on the other hand, knew he could test the idea and then evaluate it so the data could be used to prove it to the state and federal governments.
Mayors for a Guaranteed Income turned into a coalition of 150 mayors pushing forward pilot GBI programs offering up to $1,000 a month to low-income participants with no strings attached. The group has pushed forward GBI pilot programs that have been adopted Municipalities across the country,
Although studies have shown that pilot programs have been beneficial, some of these programs face funding and legal challenges.
Fox News Digital spoke last week with Michael D. Tubbs, president of the organization Mayors for Guaranteed Income, to discuss why cities are launching pilot guaranteed income programs. (Fox News Digital)
“No city can guarantee large amounts of revenue, because we can’t spend deficits,” Tubbs said. “Large amounts of revenue would have to be guaranteed by the federal government, as we saw with the child tax credit.”
“And that’s an argument we’ve been making all along, but, we can’t wait for the federal government. And sometimes we have to motivate and inspire the federal government to take action,” Tubbs concluded.
Here are four examples of where GBI is being promoted.
Austin, Texas
In April, Austin’s city council approved a $1.3 million contract to continue its guaranteed income program after it launches in 2022.
After Austin City Council launched As a result of this measure, the state capital became the first major city in Texas to use tax dollars to fund “guaranteed income” programs.
Guaranteed Income Program The program received $1.1 million from taxpayers when it was launched and an additional $500,000 from philanthropic donations.
A recent survey showed that the city’s guaranteed income program has helped address housing insecurity in the city.
San Antonio is another city in Texas that has implemented an income pilot program.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
A Guaranteed Basic Income The pilot of the program in Cambridge received high praise from program participants.
To qualify for the program, Cambridge residents must be 18 years of age or older, have an income less than 80% of the area median income, and be living as a sole caregiver with at least one child under the age of 18.
Due to the program’s success, the City of Cambridge expanded the program last year using $22 million in COVID relief funds and philanthropic contributions — the program, now called Rise Up, has been expanded citywide to provide nearly 2,000 families with $500 in cash assistance for 18 months.
Raising money for the program is currently a challenge for city officials as federal COVID relief funds are running out. According to the Boston Globe, Cambridge city officials are prevented by a Massachusetts law that prevents them from using the city budget to fund the program.
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Phoenix, Arizona
The city of Phoenix implemented a universal basic income program for one year in 2022 using $12 million of federal COVID relief funds.
According to the Arizona Mirror, the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Lupe Diaz, compared the guaranteed income to socialism and criticized the program. The program gave 1,000 low-income families $1,000 a month.
According to one report, participants were required to make less than 80% of the city’s median income of $63,200 to qualify. Local news outlets,
Arizona Republican Representative Lupe Diaz introduced House Bill 2375 to ban guaranteed-basic-income programs in the state. The bill was supported unanimously by Republicans and no Democrats. The bill must still pass the state Senate, which has 16 Republicans and 14 Democrats, to become law. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
In March the Arizona House of Representatives voted on a bill that would Guaranteed Basic Income Program In the state.
House Bill 2375 was unanimously supported by Republicans, but Democrats did not support it. The bill must still pass the state Senate, which has 16 Republicans and 14 Democrats, to become law.
Other cities where guaranteed income pilot programs have been launched are Durham, North Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland.
Harris County, Texas
The Harris County Commissioners Court passed Uplift Harris last year by a 4-1 vote.
However, the Supreme Court has Texas release An order was issued Friday barring Harris County from operating the guaranteed income program.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Harris County over a program that gives residents $500 a month for 18 months, saying the program is “clearly unconstitutional.” A state lawmaker told Fox News Digital that the program violates the Texas Constitution, and should be called “unconstitutional.”Lottery Socialism,
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee He said he was “extremely disappointed in the Texas Supreme Court’s decision.”
He said, “Local governments exist to help the less fortunate among us, and the Supreme Court’s decision effectively ends a program that has proven highly successful in lifting low-income people out of poverty.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Harris County over a program that gives residents $500 a month for 18 months, saying the program is “plainly unconstitutional.” (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Families participating in the Guaranteed Income pilot program will receive $500 a month for 18 months. The program began on January 12 and currently has 1,924 applicants enrolled.
Other counties that have launched pilot programs include Cook County in Illinois, Wayne County in Michigan, and Los Angeles County in California.
Though the GBI has faced some opposition, Tubbs told Fox News Digital that such critics are “ignorant of what’s really going on in their communities.”
“I think the issue is just politics and ignorant elected officials who are out of touch with their voters because they’ve been making six-figure profits off of taxpayer money for a long time,” said Michael D. Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton, California. Fox News Digital,
“American voters support a guaranteed income, including 40% of Republicans,” Tubbs said.
